Sony CEO: I've played the Wii..an expensive niche device

[Impulsivity]

HappySqurriel said:

Impulsivity said:

There's a big difference between downloading a new or recent PC/360/Wii/PS3 game and downloading a 25 year old game from a console that is 6 generations obsolete.  IP really matters in the short term, not the long term.  If you pirate a game today that is new then chances are that developer won't be able to make games like that in the future and you're shooting gaming in the foot.  If you pirate a game from the mid 80s it's not like they're not going to make a new Mario game because you didn't pay 10 dollars for super mario bros 1.  The idea of buying 10+ year old games is nowhere near the idea of buying brand new games, the arguement is 100% different. 

 

   "Piracy" is not really cut and dry.  Besides, most of the big SNES hits I'd want to play today I did own WAY back when the SNES was current (except for those like Secret of Mana 2 I couldn't get in the US) I just have no idea where my SNES got to (I think I might have traded it in for a Playstation in 1997); either way I see no reason that it is in any way immoral to not pay for a game you already paid for 20 years ago, or even to download 20 year old games regardless of the state of past payment.

   I pay for games to ensure that publisher X makes more games like it, I don't pay for old games so companies can milk even more out of something 20 years old that has long sincebeen decided on when it comes to sequels.

 

How is it different?

Does the fact that something is old eliminate someone's right not to have their property stolen?

Starwars Episode 4: A New Hope is almost 30 years old, and I used to own a VHS copy of this movie, but in no way does that give me the right to download a Blu-Ray rip of the movie when it comes out; and it doesn't make it overpriced if it is sold at $20 or $30 (or any more over-priced than most movies).

It was one thing to argue that ROMs were legitimate a couple of years ago when hardware was wearing out and there was no (legal) way to play these games; but, being that these companies are making their property available in several legal ways for a minor (by videogame standards) price makes downloading Roms an illegal and (potentially) unethical act.

   Every time they rerelease star wars (DVD, Blu Ray in the future) they add features and digitally remaster it so you do get something.  When looking at VC games they are identical to the game I played 20 years ago in just about every way.  I can't see that they added anything to make it worth paying for again, if someone else sees something then great.

    As far as being a thief, I have never downloaded a single game or piece of software that wasn't at least a decade old.  I have never stolen anything that has any real world value either.  To be honest the copyright law in the US is just silly when it comes to electronic IP and is designed not to benefit developers but rather big companies with plenty of money.  Why in the world should electronic games/software be copyrighted for 70 years?  That makes 0 sense, I mean even life saving medications which matter far more are only copyrighted (patented) for 15 years.  To say that downloading Super Mario Bros 3 (which I owned when it was new, probably in the trash somewhere since it's...you know...20 years old) is the same as downloading Half Life 2 is missing the point.  There is no good arguement for downloading a new game you haven't bought, there is really no good arguement for saying that downloading a 15 years old game is wrong.

   The idea that we should have to pay over 10 dollars for things that have long since paid for themselves is a falsehood I don't really perscribe to.  I am sure some people have hundreds of dollars just sitting there and would love to pay for everything at full price, even things from before they were born, but that's not me.